Plaisance Clippers reign over Emperors
-Yohance Douglas Memorial Basketball U-19 final
By Clyde Pestano
Stabroek News
November 11, 2003
Plaisance Clippers Basketball Club last Sunday night out-hustled and out-scored Emperors Basketball Club on their way to winning the Yohance Douglas Memorial Basketball under-19 title at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
It was truly a fairy-tale win for the underdogs who were not given much o a chance when the tournament began. However, they stuck to their `guns' with a tenacity that belied their ages and size to pull off what can be termed a major upset by defeating the highlyfavoured Emperors.
With the best-of-three series level at one game each, it was all to play for in the third game.
From jump-ball the Clippers showed they meant business and forced the Emperors to play their fast attacking transition game. This opened up the Emperors' defence to the extent that by the end of the first period they opened up a nine-point lead 21-12 to steal the early honours.
When the game resumed in the second quarter the Clippers continued `clipping' away at the Emperors `throne' and doubled their score early in that period 30-15. They continued to pile up the points and the pressure with an amazing dexterity which thrilled the crowd, seemingly, mostly pro-Plaisance, and by half-time extended their first-quarter lead of nine, to 14, 40-26.
During the half-time break the fans were treated to a sequence of dances by some dancers from Berbice.
The third quarter saw the Emperors make a valiant effort to get back into the game as they strove to write off the first-half 14-point deficit. They trimmed it by half to be behind by seven at the end of the third, 42-49, giving them a glimmer of hope.
As the fourth quarter began the Emperors scored two quick baskets to narrow the gap on the Clippers by three, behind 46-49. However, that was the closest they got to the lead as the Clippers regrouped and extended their lead once again, putting the Emperors out of reach for the remainder of the game. They eventually prevailed by eight points 67-59 to earn a well-deserved victory.
After the game buzzer sounded their supporters swarmed the court to congratulate them in a wild frenzy as they could barely contain their exuberance with the result.
Quincy Wright was the man-of-the-moment with a game-high 21 points while Ryan Burnett supported with 17. For the Emperors Lloyd Powley had another good game with 16 points while teammates Terrence Green and Jermaine Bowman supported with 14 points each.
Coach of the Clippers Mensah Fox told Stabroek Sport that his team won because of what he described as very `hard' defence. The coach said that his team deserved to win because they fought well and were inspired because of being labelled underdogs in the tournament. He added that he was very satisfied with the result after the hard work they put in.
In the other final of the night in the corporations' category, Banks DIH upset NIS who were the favourites to take that title, with a hard-fought three-point win.
The match was evenly contested from jump-ball as both teams fought tooth and nail for the upper hand. However, Banks got the better of the early skirmishes and at the end of the first period were ahead by two 15-13. The second quarter saw a similar pattern of play with the scores being tied at 17, 19, 21 and 23 but Banks broke the tie to be ahead by two at half time 25-23.
The third quarter was the best segment of the game for Banks as they extended their lead to six, ahead 50-46. With all to play for and the title at stake NIS rebounded well in the opening salvoes of the fourth and managed to take the lead 55-54 with 3:27 left in the game. However that was the last time in the game that they were able to lead as Banks held on to win 60-57.
Flagen Carter was once again Banks' leading light with 16 points while Adrian Adams had 12. For NIS Marvin Hartman scored a game-high 24 points.
In an exhibition game Scorpions thrashed Kings of Linden by a whopping 32 points 74-42. At the end of the first half the Scorpions had `stung' their way to a 14-point lead 33-19. Rawle Conway had 15 points for the Scorpions while Steve Neils jr scored a game-high 17 points for Kings and teammate Omali Sampson 16.